The Stress and Jaw Pain Connection

Are you experiencing jaw pain? If you’re stressed, you’re more likely to put excessive pressure on your teeth. Actions like grinding and clenching that are not associated with chewing can lead to a number of dental issues, including tooth pain when you are eating.

When you grind your teeth, you essentially gnash them together or slide one row of teeth over the other. It’s like if you took two stones and wore them on each other a few thousand time a day. Eventually, the stones will wear down. Your teeth are no different – over time, frequent grinding can cause your teeth to form wear spots.

When you clench your teeth, you bite them together tightly. Imagine if you took a walnut and placed it in a nutcracker. As you apply pressure, at some point, the walnut will break. Same goes with your teeth – all that clenching will eventually cause something to happen, like a cracked tooth.

A side effect of grinding and clenching your teeth is soreness and throbbing pain in your jaw and other areas of your mouth. Overuse of your muscles in this way can lead to headaches, jaw joint pain and other symptoms.

Stress Relief for Your Jaw

It’s pretty common for people to grind or clench their teeth every so often. But if you’re doing either of these frequently, a little stress relief will go a long way to keeping your teeth healthy (and your jaw happy).

Here are some stress relief techniques that are especially helpful for a sore mouth:

Be mindful of your jaw during the day. If you’re feeling tense and it’s causing you to grind or clench your teeth, take a moment to consciously relax your face.